


Rumours

by Dollie_la_Cruz



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adulting, Author Is Sleep Deprived, BAMF Charlie Weasley, Based on a Fleetwood Mac Song, Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, But She Has A Right, Cussing, Declarations Of Love, Denial of Feelings, Dragons, Exes, F/M, Fleetwood Mac References, Forced Cohabitation, If You Squint - Freeform, Inspired by Music, Memories, Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter), OC is a bitch, Post-Break Up, Reunions, Rumours Album, Slow Burn, Triwizard Tournament, Video Game: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, like lots of cussing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:14:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23594398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dollie_la_Cruz/pseuds/Dollie_la_Cruz
Summary: She looked somehow different in the midafternoon light, parts of her hidden by the smog of the city and the telltale signs of maturity in her demeanour. But it was most definitely her. He could recognize her anywhere, and she would know him. But he knew that whether she saw him or not, she would saying nothing. Was she still angry? It would not surprise him. He thought back to the last time he'd seen her, at the tender age of eighteen, eyes swirling with the complexities of their predicament, she'd practically been a grown woman while he a child, despite them being the same age.
Relationships: Charlie Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Fleur Delacour/Bill Weasley
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	1. SECOND HAND NEWS

**Author's Note:**

> You can thank Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham for this. I've been constantly replaying the Rumours album on Spotify during isolation, and I had to start writing eventually. And when I realized I'd never actually written anything for Charlie Weasley, well.  
> You can picture Millie O'Connell from Six as Ivory and Will Merrick from Poldark as Charlie.

**_London was a shitty city._** For the first thing, it smelled like shit. In fact, it smelled like _two hundred years_ worth of shit. How do you clean two hundred years worth of shit out of a river as long as the Thames without disturbing the public _ **?**_ To ask London - you didn't. 

The second reason London was a shitty city was that rent was astronomical for such a shitty city. Being a witch or wizard renting in London was even worse. You had to convert your galleons and knuts to muggle money and the exchange rate was shit.

Ivory Howard would move if she could. The problem was that her job was here. Her job as a piddling Detection Prevention Officer (DPO) in the Department of Magical Games - a mid-level position with a hundred or so other officers in the same position working the same angle: Charms, spells and other measures to prevent muggles from finding out about the wizarding world, her specifically their various events. In the last year, she had worked seventeen quidditch matches, six rock concerts and was now working overtime on the ministry's 'top secret' Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts. 

It was weird to go back to Hogwarts as an adult, as she always thought one day she would be the Charms professor, a position she was sure would have to be pried from the clutches of Flitwick's cold, dead hands. 

She tugged the hair tie out, letting her dark curls fall about her face. Dark eyes met her in the mirror, tired, uninterested in trying to appear like there was something going on behind them. How had she gone dead behind the eyes at twenty-one _ **?**_

How could you physically be a spring chicken, but long in the tooth mentally _ **?**_

Ivory didn't know. 

Tugging the brush through her hair, she held a fistful of strands to counteract the force of the brush on her scalp. 

Honestly, she wouldn't say she was miserable - Matter of fact, most of the time she was fairly content. She had a decent paying job (even it was boring) and there was the promise of promotion if she worked hard enough. She could move to a better apartment if she chose, she could find a partner.

The problem was that besides a promotion, Ivory just wasn't interested in those things. Moving was a hassle and Ivory was still feeling burned from her last relationship. Which had ended three years ago. Yes, she was fully aware that it was a long time to feel raw about an ex but also, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham broke up in 1976 and they're still raw about it.

She had lipstick on her teeth. Just her luck. With a tissue, she began wiping at her teeth, hoping not to smear her lips. 

Not like anyone would notice if she did. As she passed by the answering machine, she pressed the button to play messages and sighed. A beep.

_"Ives, it's dad. You missed tea, again. It's been almost a month, stop ignoring my calls. If you're mad about what I said, it's fine, we can forget about it. Just let me know you're not dead, OK?"_

She groaned. Pouring herself a cup of tea, she stared at her sad little counter, next to the sad little cooktop which she rarely used. Ivory was not much of a cook. Besides, she almost always had something from her neighbours, a little old lady and her husband. They were muggles, but had a magical son so they knew bits about the wizarding world. He was older than Ivory and had been sorted Hufflepuff at Hogwarts, while Ivory had been in proud Gryffindor. 

She pursed her lips and rubbed her forehead. The clock showed it was 8:30am. She would have to leave for work in half an hour. Ivory fished a new hair tie out of the package on the table and began the arduous tango of putting her long hair up into a bun. she'd thought about cutting it or thinning it out, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. He had always liked it long. It was as though keeping it long like this meant not letting go.

It was hard to let go of your first love.

Even if she wanted to hate him. 

Her supervisor, Coy was waiting for her when she arrived at the ministry and for a moment, Ivory thought she was in trouble.

"What are you working on today?" He asked as they approached the Department of Magical Games.

"I'm just finishing up the paperwork for the Cannons and Harpies match at -"

"Send it to my secretary, we need all hands on deck."

"What's going on?" Ivory asked.

"Ludo Bagman's lost his mind is what's going on. Go meet the team outside his office and wait for your instructions." As Coy stomped off, she could hear him muttering about beating Mr. Bagman with a beater's bat.

She shook her head and headed for the Department Head's office, wondering what crazy scheme he had thought up now. 

A group of about twelve DPOs and fifteen Aurors stood outside Bagman's office, almost confusedly awaiting his appearance. Whatever this was, it was big.

Ludo Bagman was mad, of that, his inferiors were sure. 

"The first task of the Triwizard Tournament is dragons _ **!**_ " came his booming voice as the door opened. Ivory groaned.

_Of course it was dragons._

The beasts were notoriously hard to control, some incredibly vicious and could easily kill an unsuspecting wizard. 

Think furnace, with wings. Flash of light, searing pain, then poof _ **!**_ You're kindling.

The worst part was the cleanup. 

"Not the response I was expecting, but alas. Your task today is to help the Dragon Handlers get to Hogwarts without disturbing the muggle public. They'll be meeting you near the Port of Inverness. You'll all be given various apparition points to go to so as to avoid being detected. The journey should take between two to three hours at the most. I'll see you all at Hogwarts ** _!_** "

The best thing about apparating is that it can take a three-day journey and turn it into a three-minute one. Ivory was standing in the bathroom of the underground subway, the very floor beneath her rattling with the force of the trains bustling along the track.

Was this some kind of practical joke _ **?**_ Was that blood or shit on the wall _ **?**_

Never mind, she didn't want to know.

She gave herself a once-over in the dingy mirror, before stuffing her wand up her sleeve and stepping out onto the platform. It smelled like death in here. She hoped she would be able to get up to the surface without drawing too much attention. The last thing Ivory needed was to have her wand stolen by a muggle.

As she clambered up the stairs to the street, she was hit with yet another unpleasant smell. Fish. Of course, she was in a port city, it would have its own aroma. 

It was a good thing she wasn't wearing heels. Her line of work made wearing them to the office impractical anyway - most days she was out in some marshland away from prying eyes. As she made her way down to the docks, she could already hear the dragons roaring angrily. It was a good thing there was only four of them. 

Ivory noticed one of her colleagues, Merula Snyde standing on the edge of the docks. Ivory had been in the same year as Merula at Hogwarts, despite the other girl being sorted Slytherin. 

"Do we know where the Dragons are coming from _ **?**_ " Ivory asked, staring the extremely large boat docking in the harbour.

"Romania," Merula replied stiffly.

_Romania._ How did one describe the feeling the word gave her _ **?**_ Like, smelling another woman's perfume on your lover's pillow.

Romania. No, it wouldn't be . . .

As the handlers began tugging the horntail down the gangplank, Ivory noticed a familiar flash of unmistakable red hair and a face nearly covered in freckles. She knew it so well it almost made her heart stop.

" _Fuck._ "


	2. DREAMS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bet you thought this fic was dead, huh? it's alive.

**_Fuck._** _Of fucking course._ Of course, it would be Charlie, why the hell would it be anyone else _ **?**_

Ivory groaned and turned away, hoping he hadn't seen her.

She hadn't seen or spoken to Charlie Weasley in three years, since he left to study dragons in Romania. Their last interaction had not been a pleasant one. 

_'Go to Romania **!** See if I care **!** Go be with your dragons and your fresh mountain air and your strapping young men who all claim to be straight but never leave that stupid dragon preserve so someone has to be sucking dick somewhere **!** '_

Admittedly, it was bad form. It had been the breakdown of two months negotiating how and if their relationship would continue while he was abroad.

And the answer had been a resounding no. 

"Oh my Salazar, it's Charlie Weasley." Merula liked to remind everyone around her that she was a Slytherin subtly. It was kind of annoying, but also, Ivory and her friends used to say 'Oh My Godric' so she wasn't entirely in a place to judge.

"I should have stayed home." Ivory said, shaking her head. 

"Right, as you'd really have missed this," Merula responded, smirking like a Cheshire cat. 

Charlie hadn't seemed to notice her yet and she considered that a good thing. It would give her time to think about what she would say to him when he inevitably came over to speak with her. 

Something like _Hi, how are you, oh gee, I have to run, can't make the trip, family emergency._

No. No, Charlie would see right through that. A perk of having grown up with her, of having been in a relationship for five years. He knew her and he knew the games she played. 

Ivory wanted to hate that about him. Oh, how she wished she could hate him.

"How in the _hell_ are we gonna get these dragons out of the city without anyone noticing _ **?**_ " She asked, changing the subject.

"Don't count the handlers out just yet - they did get these guys all the way here." Another colleague said.

"They were on a _boat_ \- we're in a city surrounded by people." Ivory replied, agitated. She glanced around, fixating on the street and hoping inspiration struck.

_Long haul truckers._

Of course. They could bewitch the dragon's cages to look like truck trailers and carriages to look like truck cabs. 

Eighteen wheelers were a regular sight in a port city, as they'd be shipping the fish around and out of town. Even the dragon noises could be attributed to the sounds of the trailer. 

"We _could_ disguise these guys as truckers though." She suggested, glancing up at the boat nervously.

"Muggles never notice anything that seems normal," Merula said, nodding slowly. "Don't look now - but I think your prince charming spotted you."

**Charlie's POV**

What was she doing here _ **?**_

He hadn't expected to see her, of all people, here. 

Ivory. 

She didn't seem to have noticed him, instead, looking away at her colleagues.

Well, that was entirely unexpected.

She looked somehow different in the midafternoon light, parts of her hidden by the smog of the city and the telltale signs of maturity in her demeanour. But it was most definitely her. He could recognize her anywhere, and she would know him. But he knew that whether she saw him or not, she would saying nothing.

Was she still angry? It would not surprise him. He thought back to the last time he'd seen her, at the tender age of eighteen, eyes swirling with the complexities of their predicament, she'd practically been a grown woman while he a child, despite them being the same age.

He and Ivory had wanted different things. 

_"You can't just up and leave me like this, Charlie!" She shouted, holding the handle of the suitcase like it was a lifeline._

_"You want to stay here - and I want to go to Romania. You said yourself a long-distance relationship wouldn't work." He was doing his best to remain calm, but it was getting harder to watch her spiral._

_"It's not fair!"_

_"Life isn't fair, Ivory! You don't have to deal with my family - and don't get me wrong, I love them, but mum has all these plans for me and you have no idea what it's like to see her look at me like I'm something I'm not."_

_"You have no idea what it's like for me! I'll be here alone." Charlie wanted to reach out for her, to hold her as he used to when she got like this. but that would only make things worse._

The adjustment period had been somewhat difficult, but Charlie had thought he'd settled in fine.

Standing less than thirty feet away from his ex, though? He wouldn't lie, it was making things difficult. And that wasn't even getting into the Hungarian Horntail having a hissy fit because its cage was a wee bit too small. 

He recognized Merula Snyde standing next to Ivory and for the first time in his life, he was relieved to see the former Slytherin. 

**Ivory's POV**

"Fuck, _fuck_ , he's coming over." Ivory searched for something to busy herself with so she didn't have to talk to him. She was not prepared for this. 

"You're gonna have to face him sometime, Ivory. you might as well get it over with now. " Merula said, sounding utterly bored with it. Ther darker-haired female hated to admit it, but Merula was right. Ivory was a Gryffindor and Gryffindors did not hide from their problems, even if those problems surrounded their ex-boyfriends. She gave a resigned sigh and turned to face the second eldest Weasley as he walked over to their little group.

"Have you decided how we're getting them to Hogwarts? We have to be careful with them." His voice made her stiffen. She'd forgotten how deep it was, and for a second she let it sink in. Charlie Weasley was here, standing before her. He seemed to be hoping that not speaking directly to her would make things less awkward.

"Ivory suggested we disguise the cages as truck trailers and the carriages as cabs," Merula said, smirking slightly and looking self-satisfied. 

"Is that so?" He asked.

"Don't sound so surprised." Maybe that had come out slightly more defensive than she had intended, but she couldn't help that she was on her guard. 

"I'm sensing some tension. So, I'm gonna go talk to the other handlers and see if they like the idea." It was just like Merula to duck out when things got tough. The silence she left in her wake was awkward, and Ivory wasn't sure what to say.

"So, where are you staying?" It seemed like a neutral enough topic to start on.

"Back at the burrow." He responded, somewhat stiffly.

"I bet your mum will be glad to see you." 

"Yeah. She is." They fell silent once again, neither quite willing to meet one another's eyes. It would probably have been painful to watch, considering. Ivory had the overwhelming urge to go hide under her bed for a few hours, but she was an adult with a job to do and she couldn't just run from her problems. 

"Weasley, where's this school of yours anyway?" One of the other handlers yelled from the gangplank.

"Not sure. I've never gone there from here." Charlie turned from her to reply. Ivory fished through her bag for a moment, before producing the map Ludo Bagman had given her.

"It's about three hours by the main roads, but once we get out of town we could probably find a back road and go faster." She said, grateful someone else had broken the silence between them. To business, she supposed.

The road was bumpy and the dragons seemed to be getting restless. Which was fair, since Ivory herself was getting listless. Merula had sat herself firmly on the end seat, forcing Ivory and Charlie to sit beside each other in an even more awkward silence. They'd been going for nearly two hours. The map said they were close to Hogsmeade, but Ivory didn't recognise any of their surroundings. 

"Are we there yet?" Merula asked, stretching her legs out. 

"According to the map we are, but I don't recognize - "

"I can see Hogwarts!" Charlie said suddenly as they turned a corner. Indeed, the large, yet familiar castle loomed in the distance. It had remained unchanged from the time the three of them had walked its halls. Even most of the professors were the same - with the exception of Hagrid, of course. He'd been made Care of Magical Creatures professor last year. It had caused some stir within the ministry, but Ivory had always thought he was the perfect man for the job. 

Hogsmeade came into sight at the same time and there in the town square stood the welcoming committee - Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Hagrid and Ludo Bagman. Of course.

Somehow had to be there to direct them.

"Where should we park these ornery lizards?" Ivory asked as the chariots came to a stop.

"Preferably in the Forbidden Forest - I'm sure they'll be able to manage themselves just fine in there," Dumbledore instructed with his usual charm.

" _The Forbidden Forest_?

**Author's Note:**

> But listen carefully to the sound  
> Of your loneliness  
> Like a heartbeat drives you mad  
> In the stillness of remembering what you had  
> And what you lost


End file.
